What might soon be splashing down the French Broad River will be something even bigger, better and splashier, supporters say. And it has the attention of everyone from Asheville's mayor to business and environmental leaders, to recreational kayakers, as an idea to permanently cement Asheville as the outdoor recreation hub of the Southeast.

Floated as an idea more than 20 years as part of the 1994 Wilma Dykeman Waterway Plan and adopted then by the city, plans to build an "in-stream" whitewater park in the French Broad River in downtown Asheville never really held water. But with an Olympic kayaker and professional whitewater park project consultant on board, the idea finally looks like it is on stable ground.